title: Formaldehyde exposure and respiratory cancer among woodworkers--an update.
abstract: Respiratory cancer was examined in relation to occupational formaldehyde exposure in a case-referent study (136 cases, 408 referents) nested in a woodworker cohort. Plant- and time-specific job-exposure matrices were constructed for formaldehyde exposure. Over 3 ppm-months of formaldehyde exposure was associated with an odds ratio of 1.4 [90% confidence interval (90% CI) 0.5-4.1]. The odds ratios for lung cancer were near unity, the excess risk concentrating on the upper respiratory tract. That for combined exposure to formaldehyde-phenol exposure (all respiratory cancers) was 1.6 (90% CI 0.6-4.4) but 1.0 for formaldehyde only. No consistent exposure-response patterns emerged for the level, duration, or cumulative exposure. The results are hardly more than debatable support for the hypothesis concerning formaldehyde as a carcinogen in humans, the possible risk seemingly concentrating on the upper respiratory tract rather than the lung.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Partanen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kauppinen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hernberg
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nickels
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Luukkonen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hakulinen
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pukkala
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014134:Tracheal Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D005557:Formaldehyde